My sister Christy came up with this super easy idea—and I love it. Even better: I had all the supplies on hand. No, I don’t drink wine, but I have plenty of friends who do. They saved their corks for a big project I have planned. I could spare a few for this trivet. You can make these any size or shape you want. They’d also be great as coasters.

How to make a wine cork trivet

Supplies

31 wine corks (all the same height)

1-1/2 yards of 7/8-inch-wide ribbon

Tools

hot glue gun & glue

scissors

fine sand paper

sharp serrated kitchen knife

cutting board

1. Cut each wine cork in half with the kitchen knife. Try to cut as close to the middle as possible, so each will be the same height.

2. Sand the rough edges smooth and even out the height, if necessary.

3. Arrange the wine corks in your desired pattern.

4. Flip all the corks over, then start by gluing the center line together. A thin line of glue along the side is sufficient.

5. Then glue more corks, one by one, onto that center line until they are all glued together.

6. Start gluing the ribbon to the outside edge of the trivet. Squeeze a thin line of glue between each cork (one at a time), and then press the ribbon into the crevice. Let the last line of glue cool a bit before gluing the next (so you can pull the ribbon tight).

7. When you reach the end, trim the ribbon, apply the final line of glue, and press the end into the crevice.

I am so glad you were able to use my idea! =) It turned out great! Are you going to make me one too?! I love the recommendation of coasters as well, what a great gift idea, why didn’t I think of that? Oh, right, you are the true crafty one in the family! Keep up all the great work!

[…] would turn out nice enough…so I kept the yarn to myself . The next idea was to make a Wine cork trivet. Lou has been collecting wine corks since he could talk and he was so kind as to give some to […]

Maddie said,

I have made 4 of these so far! they are so quick and easy to make. the only problem i always have is how do you make the trivet level? every time i make one they always turn out wobbly and unleveled:( anyone have any ideas on how to make it unwobbly? any ideas would be a great help!

Maddie – There are three tricks that help stabilize a wine cork trivet: 1) Choose corks that are all the same height. 2) Use a sander to level out their heights after you cut them. 3) Keep them flat against your work surface while gluing them. At least the bottom will lie perfectly flat, and does it really matter if the top surface is perfectly flat?
Best of luck to you on your next trivet.

I tried to do this, but when I put a pan on top of it, the whole thing fell apart. The only thing I can think is that the hot glue got hot again and and melted. Any ideas for a way to fix this problem?

Brittani – Yikes! Yes, it turns out that hot glue is fast, but it isn’t the most durable option for wine cork projects. I’m going to try this with E-6000 glue and another option. I’ll let you know what I think works best. Sorry your trivet fell apart. That hasn’t happened to mine, but then again, I don’t cook that often.

Julia said,

Karen said,

I’ve made several trivets with hot glue, and yes, they do fall apart. Has anyone experimented with low temp vs. high temp hot glue? The last one I made, I glued zig-zag trim tightly around the outside, and so far, it has stayed together. Another idea would be to use 1/2 toothpick between each 2 corks plus glue. Haven’t tried it yet, but I will!